Serendipity
by dutchtulips
Summary: R/Hr vignette, in which Ron gets his hands on a Muggle dictionary, and finds the best way to sum up he and Hermione's friendship, lives together, romance, and their marriage. Waffiness is one step away. ;-)


**SD ~ **The Ace Gang belongs to Goddess Rowling, deity of all things magical. ;-) 

**AN ~ **Okay, this piece of mine isn't really connected to any of my other fics, I just really kind of wanted to have a bit of fun. But then again, no number of my R/Hr fanfics have ever really followed the same continuum (unless possibly "My Star", and "Show The World To Me.") In case any of you have wondered why this is so, it's usually always because I like to branch out with the many possibilities I have imagined their romance developing. :-) Well, anyway, Ron and Hermione are married in this fic, as you may probably be able to guess anyway as you read it. enjoy ;-) Oh, and just for fun. . . ****

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**ser-en-dip-i-ty** (ser|n dip'e te) **_n. _**[[after Pers tale _The Three Princes of Serendip_]] a seeming gift for finding good things accidentally -- **ser'en-dip'i-tous _adj._**

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**__**dedicated to Lady Norbert, whose ravishing R/Hr fanfic, "Brainy and the Beast", got me all waffy and into the fluff mode for writing this fic. hugsXX, ~dt. 

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**Serendipity**

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****-dutchtulips- 

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Hermione flicked out the light as she exited the bathroom, wearily adjusting the strap of her pale purple nightgown as she crossed the hall and into the bedroom. Her drowsy eyes immediately fell upon Ron, who was sitting on the side of the four-poster double bed, absentmindedly buttoning up his maroon pajama top. She stifled a giggle at this, as Ron was clearly about to slump over and start sawing lumber right there on the floor. 

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Ron Weasley, it wasn't _that_ hectic of a day," she said to him, ambling over her side of the bed and sliding between the covers. "It was just dinner with my parents." 

" - Who are Muggles, and so of course I wouldn't have any idea how to behave in a non-magic house," Ron replied, securing the last button on his shirt. Quickly he waved his wand at the lights, which promptly winked out, and snuggled down under the blankets next to Hermione. "Bright idea, love, if it isn't enough that your mum and dad already think I'm strange." 

She snickered and rolled over, curling up against Ron's side as he slipped an arm around her. "So what _did_ you and Dad do while I was helping Mum with the dishes?" 

The redhead made an indistinct noise in his throat. "Nothing that made sense to either of us. . .as if I'm supposed to have any favorite programs on the tele-whatsit. . ." 

"Television," Hermione corrected. 

"Oh, is that what he called it? Anyway, I told him, I said, 'For the love of Quidditch, I just can't see the enjoyment in staring at that strange looking box all day long'," Ron said. "For some reason he thought that was funny. . .though I still don't see why, it was plain English for heaven's sake." 

Had Ron looked down, he would have noticed Hermione quietly giggling at this, as well. "So. . .so what else happened?" 

"I, er, I just let your dad have his laugh and pretended I had to go off to the lavatory, really," he replied sheepishly. "I mean, I didn't know what to do! So I went and mulled around in the study, surprisingly to my liking." 

Hermione arched an amused eyebrow in the dark. "Oh, really?" 

"Yeah," he replied. "And your mum and dad have got the most bizarre collection of books. Who's ever heard of an encyclo. . .encyclo. . .blast! What is it called?" 

She rolled her eyes, grinning. "Encyclopedia." 

"Yeah, that thing. And there's, like, thirty of them! I don't understand why, though. . .they're only full of rubbishy knowledge anyway. . .might as well been in Mermish, besides!" Ron exclaimed. "And some of those other books had the strangest titles. . ._Heartbeat. . ._how much can you say about that? _The Rainmaker. . ._who bloody cares how it's made? It's water! Oh, and one of my personal favorites, _It. . ._of the endless number of words in the universe to name a book, and you pick 'it'? _Very_ ingenious. . ." 

Hermione sniggered under her breath. "Perhaps I _shouldn't_ have tried mixing you with Muggles. . ." 

"Well, you know, there was this one title that caught my eye," the redhead replied. "It was called, er, whatsits. . ._Bedknobs and Broomsticks, _though I do _not_ see how a Firebolt can have _anything_ to do with a bed. . ." 

"It's a children's book, Ron. It was mine when I was younger," Hermione explained, with a bit of effort as she was literally bursting at the seams from holding back laughter. 

"Oh. Well, that's nice, I suppose." 

A moment of silence draped over the conversation, and Hermione propped herself up against one elbow, so that she could look sideways at her husband. "You know, you never cease to amaze me, love. Whatever _else_ struck your fancy in my parents' study?" 

A smirk played on Ron's lips at her words, and he turned his head on the pillow to meet his wife's stare, now as his eyes were adjusted to the darkness. "Well. . .a really very thick black book. . .at first I thought it was _Unfogging the Future, _but then I had to slap myself upon having the thought that your mum and dad were in possession of a spellbook." 

Hermione laughed at this, and then replied, "So. . .what was it?" 

"The cover, it said, _Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. _And, of course, I was confused. But then I opened it up and figured it out it must be the Muggle equivalent to the _Standard Spells Lexicon_," he said. 

"Ah," she murmured. "So you discovered a dictionary." Hermione looked at Ron for a moment, and then said, "Obviously you found something interesting in it, due to the thoughtful note in your voice." 

The redhead met eyes with her, holding them in a long, heady gaze. At last he mumbled, "Serendipity." 

"Pardon?" 

Ron didn't elaborate, at least not directly, as he slid his arm across the bedclothes, snaking it around Hermione's waist, pulling her close to his side. "Close your eyes and think back for a moment, think quite a long way." 

She smiled at this. "What for?" 

The redhead rolled his eyes, amused as well. "Oh, just go on," he told her, watched as Hermione shut her eyelids, and then tilted her chin upwards and stared at her. "Are you cheating? Sure they're closed?" 

"Yes!" She assured him, giving them a squeeze for emphasis. " So why am I reminiscing, Ronald?" 

"Imagine this scene in your head, just as I explain it to you, okay?" He asked, reaching for Hermione's hand. 

"All right." He felt her grip his hand as well. 

Ron took a deep breath, and then began talking, leading her through the reverie. "There's a nervous-looking boy pacing through a corridor, looking for something. He's very distraught, because he's looked everywhere for this thing of his that's missing, and still it has not turned up. He has asked other people he's met up with if they've seen it, but no one has." 

"Hmm," Hermione mumbled as she envisioned the scene. 

"At last, this young boy bumps into a girl in the corridor, and asks her for help to find his missing, uh. . . thing. She's more than willing to give him a hand, and so she starts trooping all over the place, seeking out anyone she can find if they've happened to come across this missing object." 

"Okay. . ." 

"Finally they come upon two boys, who are sitting with a mountain of candies piled between them, and the girl bounces upon them right away, demanding to know if they've seen. . ." Ron's voice drifted off. 

"Go on. . .seen what?" 

"Seen. . .Neville's toad." 

Hermione's eyes shot open and she stared hard at him, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place, and at a loss for words completely. 

Ron started to grin. "When I opened that _Webster _book, the first word I saw peering at me right in the face was 'serendipity', right there in stark writing. Then it had printed what it meant, just like the way _Standard Spells Lexicon_ has it done," he said, and then quoted the dictionary's words. " 'A seeming gift for finding good things by accident', or," his voice dropped to a whisper, "'the faculty of making fortunate discoveries of things you were not looking for.' " 

At this Hermione beamed and her eyes softened, as she felt a surge of incredible love for the man lying next to her. "Oh, Ron. . .that's beautiful. . ." She sighed softly. "And to think, you have my father's question about television to thank for your finding that." 

"And. . .I reckon I've got Neville's frog to thank for finding _you_." 

She felt a few happy tears well up in her eyes as Ron gave her his loving, lopsided smile. "You. . .you really mean that, Ron?" 

" 'Course I do," he replied, wrapping his arms tighter around Hermione's waist. "If it weren't for ol' Trevor hopping off, we might never have become friends! And if we'd never become friends, we would've never fallen in love. And fancy that! Everything that we've been through together, everything that we mean to each other, the wonderful, perfect gift we found in one another - all because Neville's toad didn't know how to stay put. It's - it's like, fate, 'Mione. Like. . . _serendipity_." He said this with a smile. 

Hermione smiled too, curling up closer against Ron. "Serendipity, huh?" 

"Yeah." 

"You and me, summed up in just one word?" 

"Cheers," Ron replied, his eye alight with happiness. 

She slid an arm around him, beaming. "You know, I quite like the sound of that." 

The redhead grinned wider, leaning down a bit to let his lips fall tenderly onto Hermione's, kissing her softly. Sealing it with passion, she adoringly kissed back. They remained locked in their embrace for several more minutes before Ron broke their kiss, still smiling. "So do I, 'Mione," he told her. "In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way." 

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**el fin**

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